ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Two Turkish journalists have been charged with insulting the Turkish nation and institutions for suggesting that a Turkish court may not have acted independently when ruling in the case against an American pastor.

Duygu Guvenc and Alican Uludag, from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, face maximum two years in prison for articles published in July after U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, who was at the center of a Turkish-U.S. diplomatic dispute, was released to house arrest after almost two years in jail.

The two journalists reject the charge. Guvenc says Monday "we used our constitutional right to criticize decisions as journalists."

The pastor, who was accused of terror-related charges, was convicted Friday yet released from custody for time served. He has returned to the United States.

The journalists' trial is set for Dec. 20.